Birds of a Feather
by BrightStar
Summary: Jubilee finds a kindred spirit in while on Utopia. She should have known he would understand.
1. Unlikely Friends

Title: Birds of a Feather

Summary: Jubilee finds a kindred spirit in while on Utopia. She should have known he would _get_ her.

Rating: T for language.

Spoilers: Anything up to Curse of the Mutants.

AN: This is unbeta'd so any mistake of grammar are mine. Reviews a drug by which writers update.

Chapter One: Unlikely Friends

She sat alone in the white, sterile room thinking _the least they could do is put some color in here. I feel like I'm in the psych ward of a mental institution. And would it kill them to put in a flat screen and a play station? I'm bored out of my mind._

She sighs, "and I'm getting behind on my _Supernatural,_"she mutters to herself. "I know nobody bothered to DVR it for me."

_It's not like there is anything in here I could hurt myself with. I might as well be in a padded room. I don't think I could hurt myself if I tried. And why would I want to? I'm nearly invincible as is, _she thinks. She looks around the room that might as well be a prison. Three white walls, with stark plastic furniture. A bed from the sick bay, and an aluminum chair. The fourth wall made of glass. Really thick, bullet proof glass.

_What I would give for some fresh air!_ She thinks. She walks up to the glass wall and squints in to the darkness outside her room. Trying to see who is currently on vamp-sitting duty. She can hear their heart beating a slow and steady, buh-bum, buh-bum, buh-bum.

"Hey! Pervo! Would it kill you to give a girl a little privacy? You wanna show? Head into San Fran. This show ain't free!" She yells into the darkness.

She wonders why they don't just watch from the security monitors she knows are in the room with her. They have to know she can hear their hearts beating and their breathing as they watch her. Hell, she could smell them when they come in after a training session. One of the perks of her "condition" as the X-Club likes to call it.

She snorts, the X-Club. Bunch of glorified geeks. They just wanna poke her and prod her, find out what makes a vampire tick. She shakes her head. _Vampire. Who woulda thought? Cali-girl, rollerbladin, mall rat Jubilation Lee, Vampire._

After she lost her powers on M-day she thought she'd never feel whole again. Then she joined the New Warriors, thinking she would feel like part of the team again. Not be so alone. But that didn't work out either. After cruising around the country for a spell, she ended up in San Francisco. Got a letter from Frosty, inviting her for a visit. She woulda bet money Wolvie would be the one to invite her, but nope. Emma did.

So there she is hanging out in SF, meeting some of the newbies, tellin' her patented _"When I was with the X-Men"_ stories, getting caught up on her mutant gossip, trying to find a place to stay in town that wouldn't bankrupt her, or give her nightmares from walking down the street at night. Trying to find a place in the world that no longer considered her a part of it.

So when Megan Gwynn, better known as Pixie, called her up to see if she wanted to get lunch, she thought why not. It's just Scott's attempt to check up on her and find out how she is without having to actually ask her himself. And besides, she likes Megan. If only she had said no, or insisted on going down to the bay or packed a picnic for the beach, anything but what actually happened. She wouldn't be stuck in this ridiculous see through box.

If only that dungeon reject had never opened his zippered mouth. She would never have been infected that stupid virus. Seriously who comes up with this shit? A virus that makes you more susceptible to vampires. Why not just bite her and get it over with? Instead she thinks she has a chance of going back to the way things were.

Instead, she became more and more sensitive to sunlight. Haunted by dreams of a man who could help her. Who wanted her with him, he kept calling her. What was she supposed to do? She could only fight for so long. She needed someone to help her, make her stronger; instead she got Xarus and eternal damnation.

One bite, one sip and she was gone. Trapped in her own head while a part of her that she kept hidden from others was released on her friends, on her family, on her Wolvie. Atleast she felt loved, needed, for the first time in a long while.

But it was only a joke; they just wanted her as bait for the X-Men. Something to lure them into their cunning little trap to turn all mutants. Stupid Xarus. He should have known he couldn't win. The X-Men have been beating his father at his own game for years. Add Blade to the equation, and he should have quit while he was ahead. But no, he kept whining about ruling all and beating his father. Ha, Dracula should have killed him centuries ago.

So now, here she is, getting lost in her own thoughts, bitterly trying to forget she used to be special. Used to have powers, used to make the world light up, bringing joy and happiness. Now she just brought fear and darkness.

She saw movement in the shadows and called out, "Dude, you might as well come into the light. I know you're there. Might as well keep me company while you're stuck vamp-sitting little Jubie."

As he stepped into the light, she chuckled, "Huh, Wings you are the last person I expected to see. Don't you have better things to do Flyboy? Who's running your multi-billion dollar company while you're stuck here watching little ol' me?"

As Warren Worthington III stepped closer to her glass wall he spoke quietly, "I just wanted to see how you were coping. Thought you might be lonely here all by yourself."

"That's a laugh. I'm never by myself. I have absolutely NO privacy. Got someone watching me 24/7. Either in person, on the security monitor, or by way of Danger. Seriously, who woulda thought when Bishop said I'd be the last X-Man, that it was because I'd be undead? Now what do you want Wings? I'm busy dying of boredom."

He smirked at her, "I thought you might like a little break, maybe get some fresh air? Get out of your cage for a while?"

"Dude," she laughed, "I don't think I'm ever getting out of here. Did you forget? I'm a vampire now. I'm the perfect science project for Rao and Nemesis. They are gonna poke, prod and inject me with shit until they either "fix" me or kill me. I'm gonna live forever in this stupid glass and plastic box," she said bitterly.

"What if I could change that?" he said.

"Why would you do that dude? It's not like we've been close for a while. " she stated.

"Maybe we have more in common than you think," he said. Then he stepped up to the glass and let his other half take over.

The change shocked a startled gasp from Jubilee. She watched as his skin changed from a light golden tan, to a dusky blue. Watched as his wings changed from those of an angel to razor sharp blades made for destruction. She laughed as she saw the change in his eyes as he released the darkness from its cage inside his mind.

"Because I know what it is like to have darkness inside of you Jubilee. I know what it's like for everyone to stare at you and wonder if this time, you won't be able to control it, if this time you let it control you. And you know what? I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't just let go and be Archangel permanently. Stop changing back to the normal looking Warren. Finally accept who and what I am. Apocalypse changed me into a horseman, and maybe it's time I stopped fighting it," he said.

She barked out a laugh. "Well two's company. You gonna bust me outta here?"

In answer, he walked up to the door of her room and punched in the access key. She could barely believe it when the door swooshed open. As she walked out of her glass prison she grinned at Warren.

"So, Wings, where do you wanna go first? I could use some new duds, let's hit the mall and get the hell outta Dodge!"

Warren nodded and turned on his heel and headed for the back exit. There was an access tower just beyond this wing of the island they could leave from there.

Once they got topside, Jubilee stopped and straightened up and took a deep breath and surveyed the view from the top of the tower. She could see the bay front of San Fran in the distance. Freedom lay just over the water.

She looked over at Warren and grinned. As he leaned over her to pick her up in his arms, his wings unfolded with a _schinkt_. Cradled in his arms she looked in his eyes, smiling, "You know War? I believe that this is the beginning of a _beautiful_ friendship."

And with that said, he stepped off the edge of the tower, flexed his wings and headed towards the city. As he soared over the bay he allowed himself a ghost of a smile. Maybe being the harbinger of death wasn't so bad after all. Especially if death as a cute as Jubilee.


	2. Surprising Insight

Title: Birds of a Feather Chapter 2: Surprising Insight

Summary: Jubilee and Warren discuss her future now that she is no longer on Utopia

Rating: T for language.

Spoilers: Anything up to Curse of the Mutants.

AN: Thanks to those of you who added me to your author alert. It makes me feel good to know people like my writing enough to want to know what happens next. Please review. It's addictive.

She woke up in an unfamiliar bed. Not that that was all that unusual anymore, but still, after having been on the island for a few weeks, any bed that didn't have hospital corners was welcome. Taking a moment to get her bearings Jubilee remembers Warren busting her out of her Utopia and smiles to herself.

Who would have thought, Warren Worthington III master of prison breaks? No one would suspect the billionaire playboy of having been the one to orchestrate the breakout of Jubilee. And while Scott was constantly telling her she wasn't a prisoner, he wasn't exactly giving her shore leave.

She would have to think of some way to sufficiently thank Wings. She didn't think she would ever be able to repay the debt she owed him for releasing her from her glass prison, but she sure as hell was going to try.

She rolled onto her back and proceeded to do a very cat-like stretch. As she lay there she realized she wasn't wearing her white scrubs anymore. As she looked at herself, she realized she was wearing a men's dress shirt with her panties. _Huh, that's right. War said something about not wanting me to have to wear what amounted to a prison jumpsuit._ She smirked at that thought, then her attention was grabbed by the sound of movement outside the bedroom door. A moment later there was a quiet knock on the door before it opened.

"Morning Wings, or I guess Evening. What time is it?" she asked him. "By the way, thanks again for getting me off that suffocating island."

Just then she noticed he was carrying what looked like a breakfast tray. On it there was a glass, a pitcher and a small velvet box. She looked at the man who had resumed his ordinary Angel appearance and took in the slight smile he had on his face.

"I took the liberty of getting you a few things while you slept. The least of which is breakfast," he told her. "Please don't ask how I got it, you don't want to know, but you need to keep your strength up," he said as he set the tray down on the nightstand next to her.

She looked skeptically at the pitcher, then shrugged. _What's the worst it could be? OJ? Coffee? Can't hurt_. At least it didn't smell bad, after being turned she noticed her heightened senses and wondered if this is what Logan had to deal with day in and day out.

As she poured the contents of the pitcher into the glass her face broke out into a genuine grin. There was blood in the pitcher, and if her nose was working right, it was just the way she liked it, warm with a splash of lemon. She raised her eyebrows at Warren. _Where did he manage to get fresh blood?_ She disregarded her unasked question since he told her not to worry about it.

She took a tentative sip and hummed in pleasure as the blood raced through her system giving her an almost instant pick-me-up. _How could Warren have known that I like lemon in my blood? Mmmmm, it reminds me of sunshine._

"War! How did you know how I like my blood? Nobody ever took the effort to make my meals anything other than nutritious. Plain pig's blood was all I ever got. You not only got me HUMAN blood, but you flavored it just the way I like it. Thank you," she exclaimed.

He just shrugged and smiled that enigmatic smile that she thinks all billionaires must cultivate. He is unwilling to admit to her that he has been watching the security vids of her since she got to the island. At meal times she was always grumbling to herself about the quality of her food. Instead of telling her about that, he changed the subject.

"I deactivated the security grid before I came to see you yesterday, so nobody on Utopia has any idea how you left your room. They seem to be running around like chickens with their heads cut off," he told her with a chuckle.

"All they know is you are gone and they can't seem to locate you. Not by Cerebra, or telepathically. Without a strong scent to follow, they are unable to trace your whereabouts. It appears to them as if you jumped off the Tower. Since they can't track you, we should be able to do anything, or go anywhere you like."

She stood up from the bed and walked over to where he was standing across the room. "Thank you Warren. You have no idea just how much this means to me," she whispered. She reached up and hugged him with a desperate strength. _I'm free. No more stifling walls._ She pulled back from the hug slightly and looked up into his face. She saw the blank look of surprise there and decided he needed a little shock. So she reached up to his face and pulled it down to her level and dropped a feather light kiss on his lips before saying, "Thank you," again.

She removed herself from his embrace and walked towards the bed again. Since she had finished her breakfast while he was updating her on her fugitive status, she went to the tray and picked up the velvet box. She looked questioningly at Warren and quirked an eyebrow.

"Open it and find out," he told her.

Never one to be shy about accepting presents she pulled the lid off the small box and gasped. Inside was a smaller version of the sunlight amulet. He cleared his throat and chuckled at her.

"I had this made for you when you first came back to the island once you were free of Xarus' thrall. Illyana made it for me," he told her. "Well, try it on," he said.

Jubilee pulled the chain out of the box and held it up in front of her. The central stone was a blood red ruby with topaz embedded in the surrounding gold. It was smaller and more feminine than the original amulet, but definitely more her style.

"Wow, Worthington. Thanks. I thought I would go the rest of my unnatural life without seeing the sun again." She smiled thinking about all the sunsets she would be able to see now. "It seems like all I'm doing is thanking you this evening."

"Not to sound ungrateful, but I have a question. Why are you doing all of this for me? We weren't exactly super tight when I lived at the mansion. You were always gone, running your company, or running after Betsy. Why are you taking such an interest in me now?" She asked him.

"Well…I feel like I know what you're going through to an extent. During my time with X-Force, I reverted to Archangel and he seems to be a personification of the darkness on my soul that Apocalypse put there. I'll never be free of it. And I'm not sure I want to be. That side of me is more honest. Lately I don't feel like this normal looking version of me is the real me. Like it's a mask to hide the true me from people who don't want to admit that maybe Archangel **is** the real me." He told her all this without looking at her, instead choosing to pace in front of the draped windows.

She looked at him curiously and considered his words. Nobody on the island wanted to accept the fact that she was now one of the undead. That she would never be the happy-go-lucky child that had saved Logan in the Australian outback. Never be the carefree teen from Generation X. She had lost too much to ever be able to go back to that person.

She looked at Warren, really looked, and could see the sadness this revelation caused him.

"I think I know how you feel. No matter what anybody wants, you're no longer the person they knew. And no matter how badly they want to change that, they need to just accept who you are now. Not try to change you back to who THEY want you to be." She looked at him with understanding and compassion.

"But enough of the boring depressing stuff! If I'm not gonna go around every day in your dress shirts and my undies, you are going to take me shopping."

"Whenever you're ready Lee, but I'm not buying you anything black. It makes you look dead." He said. He smirked slightly while she absorbed what he had said to her.

"Oh my god, was that a joke War?" Jubilee replied. "Since when did you grow a sense of humor?"

He just smiled and left the room so she could get dressed in peace. _I wonder just how high his credit limit is? And if he realized just who he was talking to when he offered to go shopping. He's gonna be in for one HELL of a surprise. This former mallrat doesn't do anything by halves!_


	3. Parting Gifts

Title: Birds of a Feather Chapter 3: Parting Gifts

Summary: Jubilee and Warren discuss her plans for the future. Where will she go?

Rating: Still T for language.

AN: Thanks go out to Gothchiq80, Kairan1979 and Sarace for reviewing. Thanks for the encouragement. Also thanks go out to all of you who added my fic to your favorites or story alerts. It definitely made me feel like what I was writing was worth continuing. Thank you.

"Wow, Warren, that was one _epic_ shopping trip yesterday. I was so exhausted that I slept for 10 hours, and being a vampire, I don't need that much sleep! Thanks for cheering me up. A whole day of retail therapy on somebody else's tab, just what the doctor ordered dude."

"No problem Jubilee," he said, "I actually had a good time being your personal bag handler. Who knew being your beast of burden would be so enjoyable?"

She laughed at his response to her exuberance. He would never know just how much of her life he had given her back. Being stuck on that island in a glass cage was killing her soul, and he had seen that and saved her. She could never repay that, but she could try.

"Have you thought about what you want to do now that your life is your own again?" Warren asked her.

"Well, I'm still trying to get back to my old self after all that has happened. I can't just flip a switch and turn in to Miss Suzy Sunshine like everyone seems to think I should. They seem to forget that after M-day nobody was there for me. Nobody called, no e-mails, nothing. I went through a lot, working at that half-way house for depowered mutants and then hooking up with the New Warriors. I made and lost a lot of friends in those months after the Civil War. I'm still trying to start feeling like myself. Maybe not the old bubble-gum, rollerblading Jubilee, but someone new," she told him.

Warren looked at her with a sad sigh of resignation. "I was wondering how you were coping with the vampirism. I know that after the Japanese came out with the synthetic blood and the vamps came 'out of the coffin' so to speak it will be easier for you to mainstream, but you're not a normal vampire. You're a daywalker now. I just hope you know that this changes nothing between us. Whoever you find yourself to be, she will always be my friend."

"Thanks Wings, now you're gonna make me cry! And you know what a disgusting display that is!"

Jubilee shook her head and held back her tears, because really, crying tears of blood is just gross. She watches her friend as he crosses the penthouse apartment to look out the window at the bay and wonders how to tell him her plan without feeling completely horrible. She knows it's necessary, but wants to spare him any hurt.

"You know, you've been so great to me War, I can't help but feel like I'm going to disappoint you. I feel like I need to get away from the X-Men, maybe go on a road trip. Check in on my friends from the New Warriors. I haven't seen Sofia in ages and I'm worried about Jono. He hasn't returned my e-mails and it's been a couple of weeks now. You know he had his own run in with Apocalypse, right? Dude hasn't been right since M-day. And then you add Poccy to the mix and that can't be healthy. I'm worried."

Warren watched the sun set on the bay and turned to look at Jubilee a slight smile on his beautiful angelic face.

"I know what you're planning Lee. You don't have to pussyfoot around it. You're gonna go find him, aren't you? What's the plan?" he asked her.

"Well I figured I could combine it into a self searching road trip!" she replied. "I'm gonna drive out to the last address I had for him and follow any leads I can until I hunt the bloody git down and sit on him for not answering his phone!"

"Sounds like an adventure I will be sorry to miss, but duty calls. The team needs me, and to be honest, right now I need the team. I need to find the balance between me and Archangel. I feel like to people, fighting for dominance and if I relinquish control, all hell will break loose," he told her looking like a lost soul.

He looked sideways at her standing next to him. Even in her new green leather jacket, she still looked young and full of hope like she did when she was thirteen; until you looked in her eyes. Those eyes had seen pain, death, loss, and heartache. How could you pack so much history into such a tiny 20 year-old package? _I guess being one of the X-Men ages you past your years_ he thinks to himself.

"Why don't you let me fund your road trip? You could take one of the cars and the credit card and have a blast," he said. He hoped she would take him up on it, then he could keep track of where she went via credit reports.

"Oh, Wings! I can't. That's too generous. I can't take advantage of our friendship like that. Besides back when I was at the Academy, Frosty set all of us Gen-Xers with trust funds. I'm loaded! Maybe not as financially endowed as you, but I'll get by."

She gave him cheeky grin, "although I will take you up on the offer of a car. That way I don't have to wait to get going. Now that I'm away from Utopia, I'm itchin' to get out on the road."

He walked over to the desk on the other side of the room and got a set of keys out. He tossed the keys to her.

"What are these keys to War?" she looked at him questioningly.

"My 1970 Dodge Challenger. The one you've been eyeing since your fourteenth birthday. Don't deny it. I saw the way you looked at it every time I drove it to the mansion. I know it's your favorite color too. I notice these things." He smiled at her from across the room.

"Consider it an early birthday present," he told her with a smirk. "It's the least I can do for you. But you have to promise to keep in touch. E-mail is fine if you don't want everyone knowing where you are. I know you can set up a secure address. But I want to know what's going on and where you are. I don't want you falling off the grid again."

Jubilee walked over to him and gave him a hug.

"I'll miss you too Wings. These last few days with you have been the best I've had since before M-day. Thank you." She told him. "Now stop being sentimentally, you're gonna make me cry!"

"You just make sure to come back once you find yourself. And try not to get into too much trouble, I'm already going to have to deal with one angry Canuck when he finds out I busted you out of Utopia, and then sent you on a road trip."

"Don't worry about Logan, Wings. I'll let him know I'm ok and not to come after me yet. He of all people should understand the need to get away and find some space of my own." She smiled up at him.

It felt nice having someone hold her. She realized that no one had hugged her or held her at all since she became a vampire. It was like they all thought she would try to feed off of them, like they didn't trust her.

"You know, you'll always have a home here Jubilee. And I think that once you find what you are looking for, we would probably have a place for you on our super-secret mutant death team; also known as X-Force." He smirked at her. "Scott thinks he is so sneaky, but everyone knows something is going on behind their backs. I think you would be a good addition to the team, then Logan can spy on you to his heart's content."

"You always did know what to say to make a girl blush Wings," she said. "Now, I think I should pack. All of a sudden I'm really anxious to find Jono. Something tells me he might be in over his head."

"Good Luck Jubilee. I hope you find what you are looking for out there. If not, you can always come home."

With a final hug he left her to pack up her things. She knew she would miss him, but knew it was for the best. She needed to rediscover herself; away from the X-Men. Maybe search out some of the vamps who went public. Maybe check out a few clubs. At least she would get to spend some quality time with her new baby!

Warren had no idea how happy he had made her with his gift of the Challenger. With a happy sigh as she daydreamed of her adventures with her baby she skipped back to her bedroom to pack her belongings. This was going to be one hell of an adventure. She couldn't wait.


End file.
